BAPTISM DAY by Thouly DosiosFirst Place Winner(Click here for larger view)

Curator Julia Dean's review: "The image I selected for first place is so rich in layers, light and content. From the Christ figure in the back, to the toddler in the middle, to the old man in a cowboy hat in the foreground, this is a complex image that works beautifully together. This is not a lucky shot, this is sophisticated seeing."

Dean asks, " How long and where have you been shooting on the streets?"

Dosios responds, "I’ve been shooting on the streets for the last twenty years, seeking to capture impressions of the unique spirit of faraway places through intimate moments of daily public life. Journeys have taken me to the streets of Istanbul, Rome, Lisbon, Cairo, Oaxaca, Tokyo, Varanasi, and more.

Strangely, for many years, it didn’t even occur to me to photograph my own city. The why still baffles me. Five years ago, I became a mother and, although I still travel quite a bit, life is a bit more centered around home. One of the myriads of earth-shattering discoveries that parenthood has shaken me with is how profoundly enriching, fulfilling and fun it can be photographing the city I live in, Los Angeles, a place I deeply love and respect and which constantly challenges and fascinates me.

On a regular basis, I walk around various city neighborhoods, photographing everything from the daily mundane affairs of a street corner, to the rich cultural, spiritual or plain random and bizarre celebrations that constantly pop up, as well as the political marches and other communal gatherings that have recently become a powerful force in a galvanized city determined to play an important role in history at a time of crisis."

Dean asks, "Has shooting on the street changed or improved your vision and if so, in what way?"

Dosios says, "I’ve been greatly attracted to street photography because of its elusive nature. The task at hand is almost impossible: to capture a small moment of daily life that would be utterly inconsequential were it not for the fact that it carries within it something vital about our humanity.

Being on the streets I have to be alert and present in full body and soul. I have to keep training my eye to see tiny innuendos and to be able to perceive a moment that hasn’t even happened yet, but when it does, it may carry a vital gram of truth about the beauty or darkness of our collective existence.

Training my eye to see better does not stop on the streets. I spend a great deal of time looking at my images, seeing poetic synergies that took place by serendipity when unexpected elements barged into the picture, reflecting upon what confluence of elements within the image draw me in, discovering layers of emotion on my subjects’ faces, and losing myself in their small, suggestive gestures that whisper profound secrets about their experience."

Dean asks, "What do you strive for each time you go out on the streets?"

Dosios says, "Each time I go out on the streets I try to be fully present. Open. Raw. I’m drawn to the unknown and there, look for the familiar. I find comfort in the minute but pivotal ways that connect us all. And I strive for connection.

It can be a brief meeting of the eyes, or a long conversation. But even if there is no overt interaction, just the mere act of making a picture may bring on an eternal and precious bond with a complete stranger. I find this quite magical."

Curator Douglas Stockdale's review:
"This is a mysterious and dark image. The juxtaposition of the subject in the foreground with the child in middle surrounded by the thong of seated subjects and the hovering Christ figure in the background creates a potentially rich narrative.

There is also an underlying visual tension resulting from how many of these individuals are not interacting between themselves, thus also making this image a bit harder to comprehend. I am also not sure of what the real subject is in this confusing photograph, which I find to be a weakness.www.douglasstockdale.com

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Thouly Dosios holds a B.A. in Visual Studies from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in Film Directing from UCLA. Thouly’s short films have screened in numerous film festivals worldwide receiving many distinctions, including a spot as finalist for a Student Academy Award. She is currently completing the documentary short, The Rituals of Waiting, about the aspirations of women refugees living in refugee camps on the Greek island of Lesvos.

Dosios has photographed in the streets of Istanbul, Rome, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Varanasi and Oaxaca, among others.

For the last six years she has focused on documenting daily life in the streets of Los Angeles, and since 2014 she has been a member of the Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP).

Dosios’ photography has received recognition in international competitions worldwide, and has been showcased at group shows at the Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York, the dnj Gallery, The Perfect Exposure Gallery and LACP in Los Angeles, the Praxis Gallery & Photographic Arts Center in Minneapolis, the Black Box Gallery in Portland, and the PH21 Gallery in Budapest.

Thouly Dosios grew up in Athens, Greece, and currently lives in Los Angeles.